JPH08224865A - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent throughput from lengthening even when a capping means is put into actuator by a method wherein a capping action means, in which the capping means for covering an ink discharging part is put into actuation simultaneously with the action of a feeding means for feeding a recording medium under the state being separated in one sheet by one sheet is equipped. CONSTITUTION: A recording medium fed to a recording position by a conveying roll is sent to a paper delivery part after the printing is performed by a recording head cartridge mounted on a carriage. A cap 17 is provided at the position opposite to the discharging surface of the recording head. The sucking action of the cap 17 is performed by driving a piston 42 in a cylinder 18 through the rotation of a cylinder gear 2 engaging with a pump gear 22. Since the cam part 22b of the pump gear 22 is abutted against the tip of a cylinder controlling part 18d integrally formed with the cylinder 18, a capping action and a capping releasing action are performed by pivotting the cam part 22b through the controlling part 18d.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink from a recording means onto a recording material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording device having functions such as a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile, or a recording device used as an output device of a composite electronic device or a workstation including a computer, a word processor, etc. Based on this, recording is performed on a recording material such as paper or a plastic thin plate (hereinafter referred to as recording medium). The recording device can be classified into an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a thermal type, a laser beam type and the like depending on the recording type.

In a serial type recording apparatus which employs a serial scan system in which a recording means is scanned in a direction intersecting a conveying direction of the recording medium (hereinafter referred to as a sub-scanning direction), the recording medium is set at a predetermined recording position. After that, recording is performed by a recording unit mounted on a carriage that moves along the recording medium (hereinafter referred to as main scanning). In addition, for the recording of the entire recording medium, after the recording of one line is completed by the main scanning of the recording unit, a predetermined amount of paper is fed, and the next line is recorded on the stopped recording medium. It is done by repeating.

On the other hand, in a line type printing apparatus in which printing is performed only by sub-scanning the printing medium, one line of information is printed at once by the printing means after the printing medium is set at a predetermined printing position. ing. Further, the recording of the entire recording medium is performed by repeating the operation of feeding a predetermined amount of paper after the recording for one line is completed and recording the next line at once on the stopped recording medium. There is.

Among the above recording apparatuses, an ink jet type recording apparatus (ink jet recording apparatus) records ink by ejecting ink from a recording means (hereinafter referred to as a recording head) onto a recording medium, which is a compact recording head. It is easy to realize high-speed recording of high-definition images.
In addition, plain paper can be recorded without any special treatment, running costs are low, the non-impact method produces less noise, and color images can be easily recorded using multicolor inks. It also has advantages.
Above all, a line type ink jet recording apparatus using a line type recording head in which a large number of ejection openings are arranged in the paper width direction is capable of higher speed recording. In addition, an ink jet type recording head that ejects ink by utilizing heat energy is an electrothermal converter or electrode, a liquid passage wall, or a top plate formed on a substrate by a semiconductor manufacturing process such as etching, vapor deposition, or sputtering. By forming
Since it is possible to easily manufacture a device having a high-density liquid passage arrangement (ejection opening arrangement), further downsizing is achieved.

Further, there are various demands on the material of the recording medium. In recent years, in addition to the ordinary recording medium such as paper and resin thin plate (OHP sheet), thin paper and processed paper (punch for filing). Perforated paper or perforated paper,
It has been required to use paper of arbitrary shape).

By the way, in the above-mentioned ink jet recording apparatus, when foreign matter such as paper powder or dust adheres to the ink ejection portion of the recording head, or the ink at the ejection port portion is dried and thickened or fixed, the ejection port is ejected. If it is clogged, ejection failure (including ejection failure) may occur. Therefore, in order to prevent this clogging, at the time of non-recording, the ink ejection portion is sealed with a cap, and the ejection port is normalized by sucking the ink from the ejection port through the cap with a suction means such as a pump. The recovery device is used.

In the above-mentioned serial type ink jet recording apparatus, the sealing operation by the cap (capping operation) moves the recording head to a capping position (standby position) provided outside the recording area, and ejects the cap and ink at the capping position. This is performed by bringing the portions (the ejection port forming surface) into contact with each other.

Further, in order to remove foreign matters attached to the ink ejection portion of the recording head, a wiping means for wiping the ejection port forming surface of the recording head with a flexible wiper (wiping member) is adopted. There is also.

[0010]

However, in the conventional ink jet recording apparatus as described above, the recovery means such as the suction means, the capping means, and the wiping means are operated during the recording or printing of the image. There is a problem that the time (throughput) until recording or printing is completed becomes long.

ASF (auto sheet feeder:
Even in an ink jet recording apparatus equipped with an automatic feeding device), the operation time of the recovery means affects the throughput, and the operation is complicated especially in the configuration in which the ASF drive source and the recovery means drive source are common. Therefore, there is a problem that the throughput becomes long.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an ink jet which does not increase the throughput even if the capping means, recovery means or wiping means of the recording head is operated. It is an object to provide a recording device.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, an ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention comprises a feeding means for separating and feeding the recording medium one by one, and the above-mentioned feeding means for feeding the recording medium. A conveying unit that conveys a recording medium to a recording position; and an ink ejecting unit of an inkjet recording unit that ejects ink onto the recording medium that has been conveyed to the recording position by the conveying unit to record a recording image according to recording information. An inkjet recording apparatus having a capping means for covering includes a capping operation means for operating the capping means at the same time as the operation of the feeding means.

At this time, the driving source for driving the feeding means may be the same as the driving source of the capping operation means, and the feeding means and the capping operation means may be operated by the reverse operation of the driving source. May be driven, and a control means for controlling whether or not to simultaneously drive the feeding means and the capping operation means may be provided by controlling the amount of reverse rotation of the drive source.

Further, a feeding means for separating and feeding the recording medium one by one, a conveying means for conveying the recording medium fed by the feeding means to a recording position, and the recording by the conveying means. In an inkjet recording apparatus having recovery means for eliminating clogging of an ink ejection portion of an inkjet recording means for recording a recording image according to recording information on the recording medium conveyed to a position, at the same time as the operation of the feeding means. It is characterized by having a recovery operation means for operating the recovery means.

At this time, the driving source for driving the feeding means and the driving source for the recovery operation means may be the same, and the feeding means and the recovery operation are performed by the reverse operation of the driving source. The driving means may be driven, and a control means for controlling whether or not the feeding means and the recovery operation means are driven at the same time may be provided according to the magnitude of the reverse rotation amount of the driving source.

Further, a feeding means for separating and feeding the recording medium one by one, a conveying means for conveying the recording medium fed by the feeding means to a recording position, and the recording means by the conveying means. In an inkjet recording apparatus having a wiping unit that wipes and cleans an ink ejection unit of an inkjet recording unit that records a recording image according to recording information on the recording medium conveyed to a position, the wiping is performed at the same time as the operation of the feeding unit. It has a wiping operation means for operating the means.

At this time, the driving source for driving the feeding means and the driving source of the wiping operation means may be the same, and the feeding means and the wiping operation are performed by the reverse operation of the driving source. May drive the means,
There may be provided control means for controlling whether or not the feeding means and the wiping operation means are driven at the same time, depending on the magnitude of the reverse rotation amount of the drive source.

Further, in any of the above, the recording medium is separately fed to the feeding means in both the forward rotation operation and the reverse rotation operation of the drive source for driving the feeding means. You may have the transmission means to make it.

At this time, the control means, at the same time as the feeding means operates by the reverse operation of the drive source,
The transport means is driven in a direction opposite to the direction in which the recording medium is transported to the recording position, and after the leading edge of the recording medium hits the transport means, the drive source is normally rotated to perform the transport. The means may be driven in the direction in which the recording medium is conveyed to the recording position.

[0021]

In the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention having the above-described structure, the capping means, the recovering means, or the wiping means are operated at the same time as the operation of the recording medium feeding means, and the feeding means and these feeding means are operated. Even if the drive source of the means is the same, it can be operated by a simple mechanism, and it is not necessary to operate these capping means, recovery means, or wiping means during the recording or printing of the image.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall construction of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the pressure plate 8 is rotatably supported at both ends in the longitudinal direction by the frame 4, and is biased toward the pickup roller 9 by the pressure applying means. The recording medium P is stacked on the pressure plate 8, and is separated by a pickup roller 9 and a separating unit (not shown), which are rotated by a sheet feeding command of a control unit (not shown), and is conveyed to the recording unit. The separated recording medium P is conveyed while being sandwiched between a conveyance roller 6 whose both ends are supported by the frame 4 and a pinch roller 7 provided on the base 14, and further between a paper discharge roller 15 and a spur 16. Is also pinched and ejected. A recording unit is between the transport roller 6 and the paper discharge roller 15.

In the recording section, the carriage 2 is slidably supported by the guide shaft 5, and the recording medium P is guided along the guide shaft 5 via the drive pulley 13 and the carriage drive belt 11 which transmit the driving force of the carriage drive motor 10. It can move in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of. A recording head cartridge 1 for recording is mounted on the carriage 2, and signals and the like are transmitted to the recording head cartridge 1 via a flexible cable 3. The printhead cartridge 1 includes a printhead and an ink tank that contains ink, and the carriage 2
It is removable. Here, the ink tank may be a replaceable ink tank that is detachable from the recording head. In addition to being supported by the guide shaft 5, the carriage 2 is also supported by guide rails 12 whose both ends are fixed to the frame 4. The two supporting portions support the nozzles for ejecting ink from the recording head and the recording medium P. Keeps a constant distance from the surface.

The position of the recording head cartridge 1 shown in FIG. 1 is called a standby position, and the capping operation, recovery operation, wiping operation, etc. of the recording head, which will be described later, are performed at the standby position provided outside this recording area. Done.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the passage of the recording medium of the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 2, the pressure plate 8 is connected to the frame 4 shown in FIG. 1 by a pressure plate spring 28 which is a tension coil spring, and is pressed against the pickup roller 9 by the pulling force of the pressure plate spring 28. The recording medium P loaded on the pressure plate 8 is a bank sheet 29.
The leading end is stopped and the pickup roller 9 rotates in the direction of the arrow in the figure, so that only the uppermost one sheet is sent to the transport roller 6. The separation pad 30 is provided so as to hold the recording medium P by the frictional force when the remaining two recording media P become two and to easily separate the recording media P.

The separated recording medium P is sent to the conveying roller 6 while operating the PE sensor lever 31. The PE sensor lever 31 turns on and off the PE sensor 32 according to its movement, and is used to judge whether the recording medium P is present or not. The ON / OFF of the PE sensor 32 is also used to detect the front end position and the end position of the recording medium P, and is also used to judge the position of the recording medium P in the sequence at the time of feeding.

The pinch roller 7 is rotatably held by the pinch roller holder 33. The pinch roller holder 33 is rotatably supported by the base 14 by a pinch roller holder support portion 33a, and a pinch roller spring 34 is mounted on the opposite side of the pinch roller holder support portion 33a with the pinch roller 7 interposed therebetween. The pinch roller 7 is pressed against the conveying roller 6 by the biasing force of the pinch roller spring 34. These pressure plate 8, pickup roller 9, conveying roller 6, pinch roller 7, PE sensor 32, and the like constitute an ASF (automatic sheet feeder: automatic feeding device).

The recording medium P supplied to the recording position by the conveying roller 6 is printed by the recording head cartridge 1 mounted on the carriage 2 and then sent to the paper discharge section. The paper ejection section includes two rows of paper ejection rollers 15 and two rows of spurs 1
6 and the recording medium P
Is clamped by the spur 16 and the discharge roller 15. Also,
The recording medium P on which recording has been completed is ejected out of the apparatus by the two rows of paper ejection rollers 15.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the construction of the sheet feeding means and the recording head recovery means of the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1, showing a state where the carriage 2 is moved from the standby position. In FIG. 3, a cap 17 is provided at a position facing the ejection surface of the recording head (not shown), and the cap 17 is connected to the cylinder 18.
When the LF motor 19 is driven here, the LF motor 19
Driving force of the LF gear 20 fixed to the conveying roller 6
Is transmitted to the pump gear 2 by the clutch operation of the trigger gear 21 at the same time as the conveyance roller 6 is driven.
2 is driven. The rotation of the pump gear 22 is transmitted to the cylinder gear 23, and a suction operation is performed by the cap 17 by moving a piston (not shown) in the cylinder 18. The driving force of the LF motor 19 is transmitted to the pickup gear 24 via a transmission mechanism (not shown), and the pickup roller 9 is driven.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, at the end portion of the carriage 2 opposite to the standby position, the driving force of the carrying roller 6 is pressed against the carrying roller 6 and the idle idle roller 2 is provided.
5 is transmitted. Further, the driving force transmitted to the paper discharge idle roller 25 is applied to the paper discharge idle gear 26 and the paper discharge gear 27.
And is transmitted to the paper discharge roller 15 via.

In the above ink jet recording apparatus, first, the drive transmission mechanism of the feeding means from the LF motor 19 to the pickup roller 9 and the conveying roller 6 will be described with reference to FIG. 3 and FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the state of the gear mechanism when the LF motor of the sheet feeding means shown in FIG. 3 is driven in the reverse direction, and FIG. 5 is when the LF motor of the sheet feeding means shown in FIG. 3 is driven in the forward direction. It is a figure which shows the mode of the gear mechanism of.

In FIG. 4, the driving force of the LF motor 19 is transmitted to the conveying roller 6 by the conveying roller driving double gear 36 meshed with the gear 19a of the LF motor 19 and the LF gear 20 which is press-fitted and fixed to the shaft of the conveying roller 6. To be done. An ASF drive double gear 37 meshes with the transport roller drive double gear 36, and a sun gear 38 and a forward planetary gear 40, which are two-stage gears with different diameters, mesh with the ASF drive double gear 37. A reverse planetary gear 39 revolves around the sun gear 38 by meshing with a small-diameter gear of the sun gear 38. The forward planetary gear 40 revolves around the ASF drive double gear 37 as the sun gear. One of the reverse rotation planetary gear 39 and the forward rotation planetary gear 40 meshes with the pickup gear 24 provided at the shaft end of the pickup roller 9 depending on the rotation direction of the LF motor 19, so that the sheet feeding mechanism including the pickup roller 9 is fed to the LF. The driving force of the motor 19 is transmitted.

Next, the operation of each gear shown in FIG. 4 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 4, when the LF motor 19 rotates in the direction of arrow b (reverse rotation drive), the conveyance roller 6
Rotates in the direction opposite to the direction in which the recording medium P is conveyed to the recording position via the conveyance roller drive double gear 36 and the LF gear 20. At this time, the rotation direction of each gear is as shown in FIG.
It becomes the direction shown by the arrow. That is, the reverse planetary gear 39
Rotates around the sun gear 38 from the position of the broken line in FIG. 4 to the position of the solid line in the direction of the arrow, and meshes with the pickup gear 24 having the toothless portion 24a. As a result, the pickup roller 9 rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4 (the direction in which the recording medium P loaded on the pressure plate 8 is sent to the transport roller 6).

The driving force of the LF motor 19 is greatly reduced by the time it is transmitted to the reverse rotation planetary gear 39, and needs to revolve until it meshes with the pickup gear 24. Therefore, depending on the size of this revolution angle. It is also possible to prevent the driving force from being transmitted to the pickup roller 9. The normal planetary gear 40 at this time is AS
The F drive double gear 37 revolves around the broken line position in the drawing in the direction of the solid line indicated by the arrow and stops by hitting a stopper (not shown), so that it does not mesh with the pickup gear 24 and affects the rotation of the pickup roller 9. There is no such thing.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the LF motor 19
Is rotated in the direction of arrow f (normally driven), the transport roller 6 is driven by the transport roller drive double gear 36 and the LF gear 20.
The recording medium P is rotated in the direction to be conveyed to the recording position via. At this time, the rotation direction of each gear is the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. That is, the forward rotation planetary gear 40 revolves around the ASF drive double gear 37 from the position indicated by the broken line to the position indicated by the solid line, meshes with the pickup gear 24, and the pickup roller 9 moves in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5 (recording loaded on the pressure plate 8). The medium P rotates in the direction in which the medium P is sent to the conveyance roller 6.

Further, since the driving force of the LF motor 19 is transmitted to the forward rotation planetary gear 40 without being decelerated so much,
As soon as the motor 19 changes from reverse rotation to forward rotation, the forward planetary gear 40 meshes with the pickup gear 24. At this time, the reverse rotation planetary gear 39 revolves around the sun gear 38 in the direction of the solid line indicated by the arrow from the position of the broken line in the figure, and stops by hitting a stopper (not shown). It does not affect the rotation of the roller 9.

Next, the recording medium P by the drive transmission mechanism described above.
The carrying operation will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the pickup roller 9 has a half-moon shape and stands by with the notch surface facing the pressure plate 8. In this state, the recording medium P is set on the pressure plate 8. Here, when the LF motor 19 is driven in the reverse direction, the reverse planetary gear 39 described above meshes with the pickup gear 24 to rotate the pickup roller 9 in the arrow direction. When the pick-up roller 9 rotates, the uppermost recording medium P is separated and fed, and abuts on the nip of the conveying roller 6 which is rotating in the reverse direction to be set. The rotation angle of the pickup roller 9 is a toothless portion 24a provided in the pickup gear 24 so that the recording medium P is rotated by an angle sufficient to hit the nip of the conveyance roller 6.
Control with.

When the LF motor 19 is switched from the reverse rotation drive to the normal rotation drive, the recording medium P hitting the nip of the transport roller 6 is guided to the recording position by the forward rotation of the transport roller 6. At this time, as described above, since the forward rotation planetary gear 40 revolves at a speed that has not been decelerated much from the LF motor 19, the pickup roller 9 rotates in the direction of sending out the recording medium P almost simultaneously with the forward rotation of the LF motor 19. . Therefore, the recording medium P that has abutted against the nip of the conveyance roller 6 is pushed in by the pickup roller 9 almost at the same time as the forward rotation of the conveyance roller 6, so that the recording medium P can be reliably conveyed to the recording position.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 6 to 10, a description will be given of the recovery means of the recording head, which is composed of the cap 17, the cylinder 18, the cylinder gear 23 and the like shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, capping operation by the cap 17 and ink suction operation by the cap 17 are carried out as the recovery means of the recording head. The capping operation or the capping releasing operation is controlled by the rotation of the cam portion of the pump gear 22, and the cap 1
The suction operation of No. 7 is performed by driving the piston in the cylinder by the rotation of the cylinder gear 23 driven by the pump gear 22.

First, the LF motor 19 to the pump gear 22
The mechanism for transmitting the driving force to the motor will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

FIG. 6 is a structural diagram showing the structure of the drive mechanism of the recovery means shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 7 is a structural diagram showing the structure of the pump gear shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, the trigger gear 21 is provided concentrically and slidably on the transport roller shaft 6a, and is normally separated from the LF gear 20 and therefore receives no driving force. In addition, the pump gear 22 is not receiving the driving force of the LF gear 20 because the portion that meshes with the LF gear 20 is missing (the toothless portion 22a).

In this state, when the carriage 2 moves toward the LF gear 20, the trigger gear 21 also moves toward the LF gear 20, and the trigger gear 21 and the LF gear 20 come into contact with each other. The contact surface between the trigger gear 21 and the LF gear 20 is provided with a tooth portion 21a and a tooth portion 20a that mesh with each other, and the driving force of the LF gear 20 is transmitted to the trigger gear 21 by meshing these. Here, even if the trigger gear 21 moves toward the LF gear 20, the engagement between the trigger gear 21 and the pump gear 22 is not released, so that the rotation of the trigger gear 21 also rotates the pump gear 20. The driving force of the LF gear 20 is transmitted to the pump gear 22 by the clutch operation of the carriage 2. However, indirect driving of the pump gear 20 via the trigger gear 21 has a limited driving force, and therefore the following mechanism is adopted to realize the direct driving of the pump gear 22 by the LF gear 20.

The pump gear 22 is formed thicker than the trigger gear 21 and the LF gear 20, and a part of the teeth is cut out from the vicinity of the central portion in the axial direction toward the one end portion (arrow E in FIG. 6) on the peripheral edge of the pump gear 22. The tooth portion 22a is formed. The width of the toothless portion 22a (arrow F in FIG. 7) is such that the toothless portion 22a and the teeth of the LF gear 20 do not come into contact with each other even when the pump gear 22 and the LF gear 20 are placed at positions where they mesh with each other. Has become. Here, the trigger gear 21
Is rotated a little, the pump gear 22 is rotated and the toothless portion 2
2a moves, and the pump gear 22 and the LF gear 20 come into direct mesh with each other. In this state, the carriage 2 is moved in the direction away from the LF gear 20, and the trigger gear 21
And the LF gear 20 are disengaged, the pump gear 2
Since the 2 and the LF gear 20 are directly meshed with each other, the driving force is transmitted.

Next, the structure of the recovery means of the recording head will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the essential parts showing the configuration of the recording head recovery means of the first embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention. 9A and 9B are enlarged views of the essential part showing the configuration of the cap that is the recovery means shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 9A is a side view and FIG. 9B is a plan view.

In FIG. 8, the cap 17 made of an elastic material such as chlorinated butyl rubber is a cap holder 4.
1, and the cap holder 41 is rotatably held by an arm portion 18a extending integrally from the cylinder 18. The cylinder 18 has a piston 42 made of an elastic material such as rubber inside thereof.
By driving No. 3, a negative pressure is generated in the cylinder 18.

A joint portion 17a formed integrally with the cap 17 is formed in the cap 17, and the joint portion 17a is press-fitted into a joint portion 18b provided in the cylinder 18 with a tightening allowance, whereby the cylinder 18 And the cap 17 are joined in a sealed state. Further, the joint portion 18 provided on the cylinder 18
Ink b is provided with an ink suction port 18c that communicates the inside of the cylinder 18 with the cap 17.

Further, the piston shaft 43 is provided with two integrally formed flanges 43c and 43d, and the donut-shaped piston 42 is provided between the flanges 43c and 43d.
Is set. The piston 42 is made of an elastic member, for example, silicon rubber, NBR rubber, or the like is used.
Here, the outer diameter of the piston 42 is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the cylinder 18, and a certain tightening allowance (approximately 0, 2 mm
~ 0, 5 mm). Therefore, the piston 42
Even if is moved, the sealability between the cylinder inner wall and the piston outer wall is maintained. The cylinder seal 45 and the cylinder washer 46 also have a donut shape. The outer diameter of the cylinder seal 45 has a sealability with the inner diameter of the cylinder 18, and the inner diameter of the cylinder seal 45 has a sealability with the piston shaft 43. ing. The cylinder washer 46 is locked at the stepped portion provided on the cylinder 18.

A rib 42a is provided on the side surface of the piston 42 so as to face the flange 43c over the entire circumference, and since the inner diameter of the piston 42 is formed to be larger than the outer diameter of the piston shaft 43, a space between the rib 42a and the piston shaft 43 is formed. There is a gap in. Further, since the width of the piston 42 is narrower than the distance between the two flanges 43c and 43d provided on the piston shaft 43, the piston 42 and the flange 43c, and the piston 42 and the flange 43d. There is a gap between them. These gaps are provided for discharging the sucked ink.

In FIG. 9, the joint portion 17a of the cap 17 is made of an elastic material such as chlorinated butyl rubber and the cap 1 is made of an elastic material.
Since the cap holder 41 is made integrally with L and is deformable in an L shape, it does not hinder the rotation of the cap holder 41. A different-diameter compression cap spring 44 is installed below the cap holder 41 between the base 14 and the cap holder 41.
1 is always urged to the recording head side.

Since the cylinder 18 is rotatably supported by the base 14 about the cylinder axis,
Rotational force is applied to the cylinder 18 and the cap 17 by the different diameter compression cap spring 44 about the cylinder axis. A cylinder controller 18d is formed integrally with the cylinder 18 as shown in FIG.
The tip of the cylinder control portion 18d is in contact with the cam portion 22b of the pump gear 22. Therefore, the cylinder control unit 1
8d moves up and down along the cam portion 22b with the rotation of the pump gear 22, so that the recording head is capped and uncapped.

Next, the movements of the piston shaft 43 and the piston 42 of the cylinder 18 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of an essential part showing a state in which the piston shaft of the cylinder of the recovery means shown in FIG. 8 is slightly pushed in, and FIG. 11 shows the maximum suction force by the cylinder of the recovery means shown in FIG. It is a principal part enlarged view which showed the state which becomes.
Further, FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of a main part showing a state where ink is discharged from the cylinder of the recovery means shown in FIG.

In FIG. 10, when the carriage 2 performs the clutch operation, the driving force of the LF gear 20 is transmitted to the pump gear 22 and further to the cylinder gear 23. A boss 23a is provided on the inner wall of the cylinder gear 23, and the boss 23a is fitted in a lead groove 43a provided on the piston shaft 43. Therefore, the piston shaft 43
The rotation movement of the pump gear 22 is converted into the linear movement of the piston shaft 43 by stopping the rotation of the piston gear 43.

In the initial state of the cylinder 18, the piston shaft 43 is pulled up as shown in FIG.
2 is the position pushed by the flange 43d. Here, when the piston shaft 43 moves to the left in FIG. 8, the flange 43c comes into pressure contact with the rib 42a on the side surface of the piston as shown in FIG. 10, and the space 18f on the right side of the piston 42 is in a sealed state. When the piston shaft 43 further moves to the left, the volume of the space 18f increases in the sealed state, so that the pressure gradually becomes lower than the atmospheric pressure (negative pressure state). This negative pressure increases as the piston shaft 43 (piston 42) moves, and becomes maximum when the end portion of the side surface of the piston 42 passes through the ink suction port 18c (see FIG. 11). Immediately after this, the space 18f and the ink suction port 18c communicate with each other, so that air flows from the outside into the cylinder 18 via the cap 17. At this time,
Ink is sucked by capping the ejection port forming surface of the recording head with the cap 17. The ink sucked from the recording head stays in the space 18f in the cylinder 18.

As shown in FIG. 12, when the LF motor 19 is rotated in the reverse direction to pull up the piston shaft 43 (in the direction of arrow B), the piston shaft 43 (piston 42) is pulled up and the clearance between the piston 42 and the piston shaft 43 is increased. Through
The ink in the space 18f moves to the space 18h on the left side of the piston 42 (the flow of arrow C in FIG. 12). Therefore, while the reciprocating motion of the piston shaft 43 (piston 42) is repeated, ink is gradually discharged from the cylinder end portion 18g. The ink discharged from the cylinder 18 is sucked into a waste ink sheet (not shown) contained in the base 14.

Next, the paper feeding means described above with reference to FIG.
The operation procedure of the recovery means will be described. The operations of the paper feeding unit and the recovery unit are MPU (Micro Process).
It is controlled by a control unit (not shown) having a ssing unit).

FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing the operation sequence of the first embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 13, first, the control means determines whether or not the paper feeding operation is performed (step S1). The paper feeding operation is judged by a recording request from an electronic device having image information or print information.

Next, when it is determined that the paper feeding operation is performed,
At that time, it is determined whether or not the suction operation is performed (step S2). Execution of the suction operation is determined by, for example, setting by a timer or pressing a manual suction key.

When the control means determines that the paper feed operation and the suction operation are performed at the same time, the clutch operation by the carriage 2, that is, the operation of pushing the trigger gear 21 by the carriage 2 is performed (step S3). Then, the LF motor 19 is reversely operated (step S
4). By this reverse rotation operation, the suction operation by the cylinder 18 is performed. At the same time, the reverse rotation of the LF motor 19 causes the reverse planetary gear 39 to revolve around the sun gear 38.
It meshes with the pickup gear 24. Further, as the LF motor 19 continues to rotate in the reverse direction, the piston 42 of the cylinder 18 is further pushed, and at the same time, the pickup roller 9 rotates and the recording medium P is abutted against the nip of the conveying roller 6 which is rotating in the reverse direction. The position of P is adjusted (registration).

Next, the LF motor 19 is rotated in the normal direction, whereby the conveying roller 6 is rotated in the normal direction, and the recording medium P that has been fed is
Is sent to the recording position (cue). At the same time, the piston 42 of the cylinder 18 is returned to the initial position (step S5).

When it is determined that the suction operation is not performed in step S2, first, the reverse rotation operation of the LF motor 19 is performed without the clutch operation by the carriage 2 (step S).
6). By the reverse rotation operation of the LF motor 19, the recording medium P is abutted against the nip of the conveyance roller 6 which is rotating in reverse, and the position of the recording medium P is regulated (registration). The reverse rotation amount of the LF motor 19 at this time is the same as the reverse rotation amount of step S4.

Then, the recording medium P is sent to the recording position by the forward rotation of the LF motor 19 (step S7).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1 that the paper feeding operation is not performed, it is determined in step S8 whether or not the suction operation is performed. When it is determined that the suction operation is performed, the clutch operation by the carriage 2 is performed (step S
9), the LF motor 19 is reversed to perform the suction operation (step S10). The amount of reverse rotation of the LF motor 19 at this time is smaller than that in steps S4 and S6, and the amount of reverse rotation is such that the pickup roller 9 cannot be driven.

Next, the LF motor 19 is rotated in the normal direction to return the piston 42 of the cylinder 18 (step S11). Step S10 and step S
If the suction amount is small in the suction operation performed in 11, the suction amount is secured by the repeated operation of steps S10 and S11. If it is determined that the suction operation is not performed in step S8, the processing is ended as it is.

By using the above sequence, the paper feeding means and the recovery means (suction means) can be simultaneously driven by a simple mechanism, and it is necessary to operate the recovery means during the recording or printing of an image. Therefore, the throughput of the inkjet recording apparatus can be shortened.

(Second Embodiment) Next, FIG. 14 and FIG.
The second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the essential parts showing the structure of the capping means of the second embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart showing an operation sequence of a second embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 14, in this embodiment, the pump gear 122 and the cylinder gear 123 are not in mesh with each other, and the driving force of the LF gear 120 is the pump gear 122.
It is transmitted only to the cylinder control section 118d via the cam section 122b. Therefore, the driving force of the LF gear 120 is only the driving force of the capping operation and the capping releasing operation by the cap 117.

On the other hand, the cylinder gear 123 is driven by a suction gear 47 fixed to a pump driving motor (not shown), and the driving force of the suction gear 47 drives the piston shaft 143 of the cylinder 118. This suction operation is performed by a suction command output separately.

Since the clutch operation by the carriage and the sheet feeding means are the same as those in the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

In such a structure, as shown in FIG. 15, first, the control means determines whether or not the paper feeding operation is performed (step S12). When it is determined that the paper feeding operation is performed, first, the clutch operation by the carriage is performed (step S13).

Next, the position of the recording medium P is regulated by the reverse operation of the LF motor as in the first embodiment, and at the same time, the cylinder controller 118d is driven to perform the capping operation (step S14). In the present embodiment, the sequence is such that the capping is always performed at the time of feeding in consideration of waiting for data after feeding, and taking into consideration the adhesion of paper dust to the recording head at the time of feeding.

Next, the recording medium P is sent to the recording position by rotating the LF motor forward (step S1).
5). At this time, the forward rotation amount is small, and the capping operation is not released yet.

When it is determined in step S12 that the paper feeding operation is not performed, it is determined in step S16 whether capping is performed.

When it is determined that capping is performed, first, the clutch operation by the carriage is performed (step S
17). Then, the capping operation is performed by performing the reverse rotation operation of the LF motor (step S18). The reverse rotation amount at this time is set to be smaller than that in step S15, and the paper feeding operation is not performed.

When the control means outputs a capping cancellation command for starting recording from the states of steps S15 and S18, the LF motor is rotated in the forward direction to the capping canceled state. If it is determined in step S16 that capping is not performed, the process ends.

According to the above sequence, the capping operation is performed at the same time as the paper feeding operation at each time of paper feeding.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 16 is an enlarged view of the main part of the wiping means used in the third embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 17 shows the wiping means shown in FIG. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 16, in the present embodiment, not the recovery means for performing the suction operation after capping, but the wiping means for wiping and cleaning the ink ejection portion of the recording head is provided. Therefore, as the drive mechanism, a wiper gear for driving the wiper is provided instead of the pump gear. At the time of paper feeding, the trigger gear 221 is pushed to the LF gear 220 side by a carriage (not shown) as in the first embodiment, and the driving force of the LF gear 220 is transmitted from the trigger gear 221 to the wiper gear 48. . The wiper gear 48 to which the wiper 49 is attached continues to rotate in the reverse direction for one rotation until the toothless portion 48a faces the LF gear 220 again, and the movement causes the wiper 49 to move to the recording head 2
The operation of wiping the ejection port surface of No. 01 is performed (see FIG. 17).

Since the sheet feeding means is the same as that in the first embodiment, its explanation is omitted.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the wiping operation is performed in conjunction with the paper feeding operation.

In the above-described embodiment, the present invention has been described using the printer in which the ink jet recording head is mounted on the carriage. The configuration described in the present invention is preferably used even for an information processing apparatus that includes a scanner unit that is compatible with a recording head and that can be mounted on a carriage, and that can read image information from a document sheet supported by a platen. You can

Next, the above-mentioned ink jet recording apparatus using an ink jet recording head of an ink jet recording system in which ink is ejected from an ejection port to perform recording by utilizing thermal energy generated by an electrothermal converter as recording energy. Will be described in more detail.

With regard to its typical structure and principle, see, for example, US Pat. No. 4,723,129 and US Pat.
What is done using the basic principles disclosed in 740,796 is preferred.

This system can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it corresponds to the sheet or liquid path holding the recording liquid (ink). By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recording information to the electrothermal converter arranged in such a manner as to give a rapid temperature rise to the recording liquid beyond nucleate boiling, thermal energy is applied to the electrothermal converter. Is generated and the recording liquid near the heat acting surface of the recording head is film-boiling. As a result, bubbles can be formed in the recording liquid in a one-to-one correspondence with this drive signal, which is effective.

The recording liquid is discharged into the atmosphere by the acting force generated in the process of growth and contraction of the bubbles to form at least one droplet.

It is more preferable to make this driving signal into a pulse shape, since the growth and contraction of the bubbles are immediately and appropriately performed, so that the ejection of the recording liquid having an excellent responsiveness can be achieved. As this pulse-shaped drive signal, U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,3 is used.
Suitable are those described in U.S. Pat. No. 59, No. 4,345,262.

If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124, which is an invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface, are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, in addition to the combination constitution of the ejection port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the linear liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, The present invention also includes configurations using US Pat. No. 4,558,333 and US Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose configurations in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region. Is.

Further, a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium which can be recorded by the recording apparatus, or a combination of a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification, It may have either a structure satisfying the length or a structure as one recording head integrally formed, but in any case, the present invention can more effectively exhibit the above-mentioned effects.

In addition, by being attached to the apparatus main body, a replaceable chip type recording head or an ink supply tank that enables electrical connection with the apparatus main body and supply of ink from the apparatus main body is used for recording. The present invention is also effective when a cartridge-type recording head provided integrally with the head itself is used.

Further, it is preferable to add a recovery means for the recording head, a preliminary auxiliary means, etc., which are provided as a configuration of the recording apparatus of the present invention, because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. .

Specifically, these are capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suctioning means, electrothermal converters or other heating elements for the recording head, or preheating means for the combination thereof. It is also effective to add the above items, or to perform a preliminary ejection mode in which preliminary ejection different from recording is performed, so that a plurality of recording mediums may be provided.

Further, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but the recording head may be integrally formed or a plurality of combinations thereof may be used. The present invention is extremely effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of full colors by color mixing.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the ink is described as a liquid, but even if the ink solidifies at room temperature or below, the ink will become liquid or soft when a recording signal is applied. Anything is fine.

In the present invention, the most effective method for the above-mentioned ink is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

[0098]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, it has the following effects.

By operating the capping means, the recovery means, or the wiping means at the same time as the operation of the recording medium feeding means, even if the feeding means and the drive source of these means are the same, a simple mechanism is used. Can be operated,
Since it is not necessary to operate the capping means, the recovery means, or the wiping means during the recording or printing of the image, the throughput of the inkjet recording apparatus can be shortened.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a passage of a recording medium of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a paper feeding unit and a recording head recovery unit of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state of a gear mechanism when an LF motor of the sheet feeding means shown in FIG. 3 is driven in reverse.

5 is a diagram showing a state of a gear mechanism when an LF motor of the sheet feeding means shown in FIG. 3 is driven to rotate normally.

FIG. 6 is a structural diagram showing a structure of a drive mechanism of the recovery means shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a structural diagram showing a structure of the pump gear shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the essential parts showing the configuration of the recording head recovery means of the first embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

9A and 9B are enlarged views of a main part showing the configuration of the cap that is the recovery unit shown in FIG. 8, in which FIG. 9A is a side view and FIG. 9B is a plan view.

10 is an enlarged view of an essential part showing a state in which the piston shaft of the cylinder of the recovery means shown in FIG. 8 is slightly pushed in.

11 is an enlarged view of an essential part showing a state in which the suction force by the cylinder of the recovery means shown in FIG. 8 is maximized.

12 is an enlarged view of an essential part showing a state in which ink is discharged from the cylinder of the recovery means shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an operation sequence of the first embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of the essential parts showing the configuration of the capping means of the second embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an operation sequence of the second embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged view of the main parts of the wiping means used in the third embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a view of the wiping means shown in FIG. 16 as seen from the direction A.

[Description of symbols] 1 recording head cartridge 2 carriage 3 flexible cable 4 frame 5 guide shaft 6 transport roller 6a transport roller shaft 7 pinch roller 8 pressure plate 9 pickup roller 10 carriage drive motor 11 carriage drive belt 12 guide rail 13 drive pulley 14 base 15 Paper discharge roller 16 Spur 17, 117 Cap 17a, 18b Joint part 18, 118 Cylinder 18a Arm part 18c Ink suction port 18d, 118d Cylinder control part 18d Cylinder end part 18f, 18h Space 19 LF motor 19a Gear 20,20,220 LF gears 20a, 21a Teeth 21, 221 Trigger gears 22, 122 Pump gear 22a Missing teeth 22b, 122b Cams 23, 123 Cylinder gear 23a Boss 24 pickup gear 24a toothless portion 25 paper ejection idle roller 26 paper ejection idle gear 27 paper ejection gear 28 pressure plate spring 29 bank sheet 30 separation pad 31 PE sensor lever 32 PE sensor 33 pinch roller holder 33a pinch roller holder support 34 pinch spring 35 Paper ejection spring 36 Transport roller driving double gear 37 ASF driving double gear 38 Sun gear 39 Reverse rotation planet gear 40 Forward rotation planet gear 41 Cap holder 42 Piston 42a Rib 43, 143 Piston shaft 43a Lead groove 43c, 43d Flange 44 Different diameter compression spring 45 Cylinder Seal 46 Cylinder washer 47 Suction gear 48 Wiper gear 48a Toothless portion 49 Wiper 201 Recording head

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Inoue 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Takeshi Iwasaki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Incorporated (72) Inventor Takashi Nojima 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Akira Kida 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. ( 72) Inventor Hitoshi Nakamura 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A feeding unit that separates and feeds recording media one by one, a conveying unit that conveys the recording medium fed by the feeding unit to a recording position, and the recording unit performs the recording. An inkjet recording apparatus having a capping unit that covers an ink ejection unit of an inkjet recording unit that ejects ink onto the recording medium that has been conveyed to a position to record a recording image according to recording information. An ink jet recording apparatus having a capping operation means for operating the capping means at the same time. 2. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a drive source for driving the feeding unit and a drive source for the capping operation unit are the same. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the feeding means and the capping operation means are driven by a reverse operation of the drive source. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a control unit that controls whether or not the feeding unit and the capping operation unit are driven at the same time, according to the magnitude of the reverse rotation amount of the drive source. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by having. 5. A feeding unit that separates and feeds recording media one by one, a conveying unit that conveys the recording medium fed by the feeding unit to a recording position, and the recording unit performs the recording. In an inkjet recording apparatus having a recovery unit that clears a clogging of an ink ejection unit of an inkjet recording unit that records a recording image according to recording information on the recording medium conveyed to a position, at the same time as the operation of the feeding unit. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising recovery operation means for operating the recovery means. 6. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the drive source for driving the feeding unit and the drive source for the recovery operation unit are the same. 7. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the feeding means and the recovery operation means are driven by the reverse operation of the drive source. 8. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a control unit that controls whether or not the feeding unit and the recovery operation unit are driven at the same time, according to the magnitude of the reverse rotation amount of the drive source. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by having. 9. A feeding unit that separates and feeds recording media one by one, a conveying unit that conveys the recording medium fed by the feeding unit to a recording position, and the recording unit performs the recording. In an inkjet recording apparatus having a wiping unit for wiping and cleaning an ink ejection portion of an inkjet recording unit for recording a recording image according to recording information on the recording medium conveyed to a position, the wiping is performed simultaneously with the operation of the feeding unit. An inkjet recording apparatus having a wiping operation means for operating the means. 10. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein a drive source for driving the feeding unit and a drive source for the wiping operation unit are the same. 11. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the feeding unit and the wiping operation unit are driven by a reverse operation of the drive source. 12. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a control unit that controls whether or not the feeding unit and the wiping operation unit are driven at the same time, according to a magnitude of a reverse rotation amount of the drive source. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by having. 13. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the feeding unit is configured to perform the forward rotation operation and the reverse rotation operation of a drive source for driving the feeding unit. An inkjet recording apparatus comprising: a transmission unit that operates to separate and feed a recording medium. 14. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the control unit causes the feeding unit to operate by the reverse operation of the drive source, and at the same time, the conveyance unit causes the recording medium to record the recording medium. The recording medium is driven in the direction opposite to the direction in which the recording medium is conveyed, and after the leading edge of the recording medium hits the conveying means, the drive source is normally rotated to move the conveying means to the recording position. An inkjet recording apparatus characterized in that it is driven in the conveying direction.